The place has a divey feel without being unsafe – our kind of place. It’s sort of a cop-bar where there are police memorabilia all over, as well as signed bras and beer lights everywhere. They also have pull tabs and meat raffles here. Again – our kind of place.
The menu isn’t expansive, but we both knew what we wanted. D.Rough wanted lobster and I wanted Mac and Cheese. We were starving and knew we’d be destroying copious amounts of food, so we just didn’t hold back. Instead of the regular lobster roll, D.Rough got the King Lobster Roll (twice the lobster as the regular), I got a Sausage Po’ Boy and Bacon Mac and Cheese. And then the waitress mentioned she had just eaten some of the buffalo wings they have there, so we got an order of Smack Wings as well. I told you we were hungry.
We were also thirsty, so we ordered a couple Jameson and Gingers for us to drink. And then we might have ordered a second round… 
The lobster roll is a serious lobster sandwich. It has cucumber pieces, and tarragon and lemon aioli dumped on a grilled bread sandwich. D.Rough loves this thing. Sure, it was enormous, but she was mentally prepared for it. I’m not a lobster fan, so there was no use wasting even a bite on me. I had plenty to eat anyway. D.Rough has claimed this is one of the best lobster "anythings" she's ever had. This lobster roll has come up in various conversations over the past year, even conversations so non-food related it has astounded me. That's how good these lobster rolls are. 
The chicken wings are good. Not stellar. Not life-changing. Just good. We probably didn’t need them, but it was fun having a ton of different flavors while we were gorging ourselves. 
The Sausage Po’ Boy was immense. Seriously, this was LARGE. I’m not sure if you can tell, but each half of the sandwich has 2 links cut in half (that makes four, if you’re from Kentucky). They were Andouille sausage links with aioli, tomato, and greens on a huge bun. This thing was way more sandwich than I could eat. I seriously couldn’t eat it all, even though it was delicious. 
One of the main reasons I couldn’t eat it all was the Bacon Mac. This is one of the best Mac and Cheese dishes I’ve had. We think it’s because of the Taleggio Cheese they use. I’ve never heard of it, but the cheese was top-notch. Lots of applewood smoked bacon pieces throughout and a cracker crumb crust and herbs on the top of the whole thing. I have a feeling next time, I’m going to skip the sandwiches and just get two orders of this. It was awesome and I’m glad we got it – even though, I have a feeling I didn’t share with D.Rough as much as I should have.This meal costs us a bunch, but we both felt it was worth it. There was tons of entertainment here, as well. Karaoke in the back of the room looked lively, we got to see a fist fight with a guy wearing an eye patch, and the spinning tri-wheel action was in the front (we don’t know what a tri-wheel is, sorry). We got our money’s worth. We also stuffed ourselves until we were uncomfortable. Overall, I call this a win.
[D.Rough commented that she was tempted to go back to 1029 without me while I was in China the past few weeks, but she resisted the urge. I believe I will reward her by taking her there ASAP!]
Top 5 things about 1029
1. Bacon Mac (and Taleggio Cheese)
2. King Lobster Roll
3. Sausage Po’ Boy
4. Smack Wings
5. Entertainment value/atmosphere
Bottom 5 things
1. Eating this much food gets pricey – our own fault
2. It is really dark inside
3. We still don’t know what the tri-wheel is
4. We don’t think our potential wedding venues will allow catering by the Smack Shack… we will press them though… stay tuned
5. The fist fight happened right behind us. Don’t worry, we protected our drinks…
www.the1029bar.com
4 comments:
why ask if they cater- ask if they will let you host a wedding there. it sounds like a fun place. make it a wedding to remember. p.s. in this economy, no one faults you for a cash bar.
I have lived within walking distance of this bar for years...and have only been there ONCE. I now realize this is crazy and stupid of me. I am seriously going there in like 10 minutes.
I'm looking forward to YOUR review of it, Ruby!
And Lee, your idea got shot down. I proposed it as tactfully as I could, but I don't think it made the lady's short list. hahahaha
I think I am giving up food blogging. However, I will be glad to tell you ehat I think of it! They don't serve until 5 PM, so I will have to wait until I have a day off.
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